Trying to capture that sweet spot in a new way

Red Box Hack

First and foremost, I want to give a shout-out to Eric Provost’s game, without which I would not have been inspired to start this project.

What is Red Box Hack?

It’s sort of a reimagining of Basic D&D, only with some story-game elements and set in a more wuxia asian-themed world. Like D&D it has levels, hit points, and classes (seven: four human and three non-human), and XP is gained through killing monsters and getting treasure. It’s simplified quite a bit (the entire game is only 23 pages), and is extremely and entertainingly pick-up-and-playable.

Eric has generously given the game to the general public, which makes me feel better about taking his brilliant system and turning it into my own thing. Thanks, Eric!

“If you still have the inclination to do anything with RBH, such as translations, hacking, or small press publishing, then please consider the thing to be yours. Do what you’d like with the thing. It’s my gift to you for all the feedback and support you’ve given.”

All characters begin with five hit points (wound levels), with the exception of the Fighter who can begin with seven if the Armor of Scars talent is chosen. Upon losing the last hit point/checking off the last wound level, the character must roll 1d10 to see if they are Knocked Out (4 or greater) or Bleeding Out (1 – 3). See page 13 of the rules and/or the right side of the individual character sheets for more details.